FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – The City of Florence will repair a cracked pipe that has leaked sewage into Timrod Park’s stream.
Florence Mayor, Stephen Wukela, told News13 a clay sewer pipe cracked near Warley and Cedar Streets.
“We have a very large water and sewer system, and from time to time you have cracks in some of those lines,” the Mayor said. “There’s an eight inch force main, it’s a terracotta clay pipe. It’s got a crack in the top of the pipe so it’s not constantly seeping, but when the pumps turn on, which happens about four hours a day, you have some seeping,” he explained.
Nakeshia Wilkins was at the park with her three grandchildren on Friday, and said their trip was different than others in the past.
“I noticed a really bad smell, almost like sewage,” Wilkins said. “I’ve been to this park before, and I never smelled anything out of the ordinary. It made me think ‘Should we stay? Should we leave?’ So we’re just going to be here for a few more minutes, and then we’ll probably go across town to another park.”
Sony Niles and Alphonso McCall live in the area, and took a walk through the park on Sunday when they first saw the black water in the stream, and smelled the odor.
“When we first got here the smell was overwhelming,” said Niles. “It was just breathtaking, it was horrible.”
Niles said she saw children playing, and was worried their health was in jeopardy.
“It’s sad because there were kids playing Sunday afternoon with a ball,” she said. “And to be honest with you, it just kind of really scared me, and I really hoped that the ball wouldn’t fly into the water and the kids would run after it.”
McCall said he thinks the city should have fixed the problem sooner.
“I feel like they [the city] should have been on top of it before now,” said McCall. “Don’t wait until everybody gets in an uproar on Facebook before you do anything about it.
Mayor Wukela said contractors will be on site next week.
“There is sewage running through the pipes,” Wukela told News13. “Most of the time none of that sewage is escaping because the crack is at the top of the pipe, but you have pumps that are gravity pumps, that pump sewage periodically. They don’t run all day, but they run about four hours a day, and when they do, it increases the volume in the pipe, and creates some seepage,” he continued. “It’s not like a ruptured pipe with a big hole, but what you have is a crack in the top of the pipe that’s creating some seepage.
The Mayor said the contractors will replace a 20 foot section of the pipe which is roughly 14 feet underground.
“It’s not a threat to anyone,” said Wukela. “They’re putting chlorine in manholes which is a standard procedure adjacent to where they have located the crack, and so that abates smell or any contamination.”
Wukela said DHEC is aware of the leak, and said there is no immediate danger to humans or animals.
“These things happen with old pipes that have been in the ground a long time,” he said.
Wukela said the contractor will start work on the project July 16.